Wonderwall
by thingswelostinoblivion
Summary: Catelyn's marriage to Brandon Stark was unhappy, they have a four year old daughter whom he pays no attention to and he is seldom around. Ned Stark, her brother in law, is there for her more than her husband ever was, previously unacknowledged feelings come to light as the pair make their way through many family trials.
1. Chapter 1

Catelyn had been married for almost two years, at the age of 27, she had a beautiful three year old daughter, Lana, who had long, brown hair, Tully blue eyes and the pale skin she inherited from her fathers side. Her father, Brandon Stark was head ofa  
large companysituated in the North, he and Cat had been friends ever since the age of 12 so it was no surprise to anyone when they married, no surprise to anyone, apart from Brandon himself it seemed.

Brandon had left many stains on their relationship, Cat had only once caught him kissing Ashara Dayne at a party, he claimed to be drunk and unaware of what he was doing, and for some idiotic reason, Catelyn believed him, so she wrote it off. She hadsuspected  
him many times in the past of cheating, all of which he denied with a frown on his face, knowing full well he was making Cat feel guilty. He was drunk a lot, he was at party's, a lot and he was always texting other 'business partners' of whichhe  
regularly met up with.

Lana was nearing her fourth birthday, she wasn't having a party (at her own request) but Cat was still organising a little family meal for her, she had asked Lana if that was ok and as any child would, she agreed to it so long as she got the most cake.

Catelyn had sent a text to Lyanna, Brandon's little sister, Lysa and Edmure, her own two siblings, Benjen, Brandon's littlest brother, Brandon's father and her own father, and finally, to Ned.

Catelyn had met Ned many times in the past, they saw each other a lot because Jon (Ned's son) was the same age as Lana so they attended the same school, they often got talking whilst waiting for their children to be released from class.

She and Ned were very close, she shared all her worries about Brandon and all the suspicions she had, his unsurprised expression had given the game away, she knew her husband was a cheat.

She didn't know what compelled her to stay with him, maybe it was for Lana's sake, maybe for her own, she didn't know.

She leaned over and placed her phone on the bedside table, face down, her head hit the pillow as she fell back, she closed her eyes and was left to her thoughts. Lana had gone off to sleep, Brandon was downstairs for a change instead of 'at the bar' and  
Catwas up in the bedroom, she was used to sleeping alone now so it was no issue falling asleep.

She awoke the next morning and Brandon was next to her, it took her a moment to realise who he was, she was so used to waking up to the window and the sun shining through the curtains, not the sight of her husbands back.

Her eyes adjusted to the stream of light coming in through the crack in the curtain and she pulled the covers back, rising from the bed and heading to their daughters room.

Lana was peacefully sleeping in her bed, her hair was flowing in somewhat knotted curls down her back and her chest was rising and falling in perfect rhythm. Careful not to wake her, Cat took a seat on the side of her bed, she stroked a piece of hairfrom  
her face and moved a hand along her cheek.

She kissed her forehead before leaving the room, the door closing with a soft click.

Lana would need food for the day, it was only Wednesday so she would be at school. Cat descended the stairs and proceeded to make her way to the kitchen. The clock caught her eye as she walked in, it was 5 in the morning. Cat wasn't one for early morningsbut  
/today for some reason, her body decided to wake her.

She made her daughter a packed up lunch and put it in the small light blue box she had, some had said she should've had more a 'girly' colour, but ever since she could speak, she had said that the colour of the winter rose was her favourite, so much so,the  
wallsof her room were light blue, with roses lining the walls.

For a three year old, she was oddly advanced in her opinions, The box was placed in the fridge ready for when she awoke her daughter.

Cat was at a loss of things to do, she moved to the island in the centre of their kitchen and pulled her phone out of the pocket of her pyjama bottoms, which she picked up in her way out of the bedroom. She went over her emails and deleted all the spam,  
she scrolled through Facebook before becoming bored, she then decided to respond to the messages she got back from her relatives.

Lyanna: "Thanks for the invite Cat, I'm sure you don't mind if Robert came too? Thanks!

Robert was Ned's best friend, and Lya's finance, they had been engaged for longer than Cat and Brandon had been together, he was loud, slightly overweight, drank too much and was very lose on the tongue. But he was pleasant company and he was good around  
kids, according to Ned.

Benjen: "Sure thing, do I need a present for her?

Cat responded: "Not really, a card would be alright, she's only four I'm sure she won't care that much"

Lysa: "Yeah, I'll be there, Petyr can come too, right? Ok, good, see you soon sis

It seems her family had a thing for inviting plus one's. Lysa had always been very sure-minded on everything, to say no to her was like telling a fish it had to fly, it wasn't going to happen.

Her brother had agreed to come but he wasn't sure if he would be on time, he lived further away than any other person in the family. Catelyn didn't see much of Edmure anymore, as a child, she had been responsible for raising him and being a mother for  
him,their own mother died during the birth.

Her father had not responded, she would have to call him later about it- their father had always been useless at using any sort of technology, his brother, Brynden had always said he was born 50 years too late.

Brandon's father, Rickard, had replied with a simple 'yes x' to which was no surprise for Cat, he too was not very well educated when it came to phones.

Catelyn checked the text back from Ned last- she did not know why but she was nervous as to what it would say. He had replied: "Sure thing Cat, I'll see you there, silly question but I'm sure you don't mind Jon coming? I'll fetch her a gift- tell her  
/she can't complain! Uncle Ned should be allowed to spoil her!"

Catelyn smiled down at the screen, she sent a message back: "Of course Jon can come you idiot, Lana won't complain, she may not admit it but she loves getting presents from her favourite Uncle"

She pressed send and placed her phone on the counter, she stood up and ascended the stairs, it was now almost quarter to 6 so she decided to get dressed.

Entering her bedroom, Brandon had rolled onto his back, he was still sound asleep. Catelyn opened the wardrobe and picked out a white vest top, it had a blue pattern on the front and had a decent Sean, not showing too much cleavage. She then picked outa  
pair of dark blue jeans. She threw them over the back of the chair next to where she was stood and bent down to pick out fresh underwear and some shoes from the cupboard to her left.

Pushing herself up, she stood and faced the mirror, why did Brandon not love her? Was she that bad? Her long auburn hair was knotted, so she gathered her clothes and went to the bathroom just down the corridor away from their bedroom, instead of of theiradjacent  
bathroom- she didn't want to wake Brandon up.

She pulled down her pyjama bottoms, then removed her top, once again taking a moment to look at herself in the mirror, she was only 27, she had given birth almost 4 years ago yet she still wore he scars of carrying a child. Her body was not as it usedto  
be maybethat is why Brandon stayed as far away as he could.

She let out a small sigh and picked up her top from where it was left, draped over the side of the bath, she pulled it over her head before then moving into putting her jeans on.

She picked up the hair brush, and began attacking the knots that had gathered during sleep, it took her a while but eventually the locks were flowing in somewhat perfect curls down her sides, they were as far down as the waistband of her jeans. She Decidedtoleave  
them lose today, she had no need to tie it back.

She applied a light layer of makeup and picked up her trainer, she padded out of the bathroom barefoot and descended the stairs once more, she threw her shoes down at the front door and went back into the kitchen to get her phone.

There was another reply from Ned, she wasn't surprised he was awake at this time, it was now coming up half past 6, she remembered him once telling her he was good with early mornings and liked getting Jon's things ready early. She had replied with a  
smile,acknowledging his parenting skills.

Ned: "Favourite uncle, eh? Well, that is a title I'm glad to hold, are you dropping Lana off today?

Cat: "Yes, who else would do it if I didn't?

Ned's reply was very fast: "her father?

Cat: "Yeah, like that would ever happen, you know very well how good of a father your brother is

Ned: "I'm sorry you're stuck with him

Cat: "I did marry him, I guess that makes me the idiot" With that, Cat put her phone down, she heard Brandon walking around upstairs so she had to be careful now, she thought on Ned's words, "I'm sorry you're stuck with him" was he truly sorry she was  
/so unlucky?

Her phone made a noise and Cat turned it over again, replying to Ned's message with a broad smile on her face

Ned: "You're not an idiot Cat, my brother is the insensitive asshole, I'll see you in a few hours, Jon is waking up"

Cat: "see you later"

Almost as soon as her phone hit the kitchen surface again, Brandon's footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs, he walked into the kitchen, he was dressed in his work outfit, light blue shirt, dark grey trouser bottoms, dark blue tie and black leathershoes.  
Cat stood up to greet him, he placed his hands on her waist and kissed her briefly on the lips saying "Good morning"

"Morning" Cat said, watching as her husband hurriedly rushed around the kitchen making himself some toast to eat on the way to work.

"We have a new client coming in today... Mace Tyrell? He's meant to be good with money so if all goes to plan, our business just got even better!" Brandon said

"That sounds great" Cat said, she still didn't really understand what exactly his job was, she knew it was important and he got paid a lot but it still didn't add up to Cat, she didn't question him on it though, she never had time... He never gave her  
/time

"It will be great, Cat! Anyway, Gotta dash" He said, taking a slice of toast out of the room with him, before Cat couldn't even say bye before he was out of the house, Cat knew he would take a detour to some girls house before work, maybe today he might  
changethings up a bit and go to Barbrey Ryswell, last Cat heard she was married and had a daughter, that surely would be enough for Brandon to go ruin.

Catelyn decided it was time to go wake her daughter up, she went back up their wooden staircase and pushed open the door of her daughters room. To her surprise, her daughter was already awake, she was sat on the floor playing with some of her toys.

Catelyn enters and knelt down next to her "Good Morning sweeting" she said, stroking her child's hair down her back.

"Mummy!" Her daughter exclaimed, climbing into her arms and giving her a hug

"What are you doing here then?" Cat said, sitting her daughter in her knee and looking towards her toys.

"This is daddy, and this is you" Lana said, pointing to the various dolls, 'mummy' and 'daddy' were noticeably spaced apar

"And who's this one?" Cat asked, pointing to the doll sat next to the doll representing herself

"Uncle Ned!" Lana smiled, hugging her mother again, Cat smiled a halfhearted smile, wondering why her daughter pictured her uncle and mother closer than her own father and mother, but as she thought on it more, it was understandable why... Sometimes Cat  
Evensaw herself closer to her brother in law than her own husband.

"Come on then, let's get you dressed" Catelyn said, ignoring the previous topic.

Something inside Catelyn was feeling odd, she saw Ned almost every weekday, but for some reason today was different, she felt different. Ned had always been a better friend to her than anyone, he was the only one who truly knew what Brandon was like...The  
Only one who knew what she was like.


	2. Wonderwall

Chapter 2

Catelyn had securely placed her daughter in the backseat of her car, she had her bag with her, containing. Few story books, one colouring book, one book which she practiced her writing and her lunch box. They drive was about 5 minutes, so not long at  
all, Lana always complained about how short the drive was because she loves traveling, the first time she tookher on a fairly long drive, she had smiled the entire way, staring out of the window and pointing to anything she found remotely Interesting.

Catelyn had the radio on, listing to the traffic alerts and the beginning of a song until they arrived outside her school, Catelyn jumped out of the car, walking round to the their side of the car, and opening the door to the back seat, she unbuckledher  
daughter and lifted her from the seat, resting Lana on her hip as she reached in again, grabbing her bag and throwing it over her other shoulder.

"Come on then missy, let's get you inside" Catelyn smiled, gently poking her on the nose and smiling as she scrunched up her nose in unison with her daughter as she let out a laugh.

Cat put her daughter on her feet and held her hand as they crossed the road, Lana was a good walker, she had completely skipped crawling and had improved straight to walking from sitting up, she was also very tall for her age, some would mistake her forbeing  
at least 6, not almost 4.

They walked in together and when Lana spotted a few of her friends, Margaery and Dany, she let go of her mothers hand an ran off, playfully smiling.

Catelyn smiled as well, she watched her daughter run off, there was still a slight ounce of worry that she might fall but she knew she would be careful. She was stood, watching Lana play a clapping game with Dany before another small child came up behind  
/her, hugging her legs and yelling "Hello Auntie Cat!"

She looked down and recognised the black curls anywhere, it was Jon. Cat smiled and bent down, picking him up, resting him on her hip where Lana was previous and kissing him in the forehead saying "Hello Jon" with a smile.

"Where's your daddy?" Cat asked him, Jon didn't have time to answer before a voice sounded from behind her.

"He's here" Ned said, stroking his sons cheek.

Catelyn put Jon back on the floor carefully before pointing out Lana, Jon was quick to run off and join in with their game.

"Hello" Cat said finally, Turing to look at Ned once she was sure the kids were ok.

"How are you?" Ned asked, a genuine look of concern on his face.

"I'm as you'd expect, I guess, Lana was playing with her toys this morning and apparently, we're closer than me and Brandon" she admitted before she could stop herself

"Oh really?" Ned said, one of his rare, yet unbelievably handsome smiles appearing on his face.

"Yeah, funnily enough, I think she's right" Cat said, letting out a small laugh, turning to look at her daughter who was now talking with Jon.

"Do you fancy a coffee?" Ned asked, suddenly.

Cat turned to look at him once more, she smiled and agreed, and as if on time, the bell sounded for their children to be sent inside.

Ned and Cat left together, they walked down an alleyway behind the school to get to a line of shops in the estate. They entered one of the café's and took a seat.

"Is 4 ok for next Tuesday?" Catelyn asked, once the waitress headed back to the kitchen, leaving them with their drinks.

"Lana's party?, Four sounds good" Ned confirmed, taking a sip of his tea, no matter how hard Catelyn tried, she could never get Ned to try coffee, it was her favourite drink but Ned was always adamant on having tea.

"She'll be glad to see her favourite uncle there" Cat teased

"Aye, don't tell Benjen" He laughed, taking another drink.

"No, I'm afraid I'll have to tell your other brother, it will be awfully entertaining to see you too battle it out for position of 'best uncle'" Cat said, imagining Ned and Benjen faking a fight on behalf of Lana.

"Who's best Aunt then?" Ned inquired.

"I don't know, that's down to you, who is a better aunt, me or Lyanna?" Cat said, leaning back slightly and raising her eyebrow in question.

"It's tough. It's a close call but I'm going to have to say Lyanna" Ned joked.

"You'll be a burn victim of you don't change your mind" Cat said, jokingly lifting up her cup.

"Fine, fine, I guess you're the best" Ned smiled

"How Are things with Jon anyway, he's not too much trouble?" Cat asked, now taking a drink of her coffee.

"No, no he's fine, he's a great child, I think I was blessed with a quiet kid funnily enough." Ned smiled at the thought of his son.

"Indeed you were, we both were, it's just a shame we both have to do it alone" Catelyn said, adding the element of sorrow to their conversation that always seemed to pop up.

They talked about other things, mainly their children, sometimes Brandon, even Petyr at one point which both parts were uncomfortable mentioning, Cat had brought up that he was coming to Lana's meal next week and Ned wasn't too pleased.

"Cat, he's a creep, you can't honestly be serious about letting him into your home" Ned argued.

"Look, Ned, I hate it as much as you but he is my sisters boyfriend, which makes me sick to think about, but I have to do this. Can we please just try and get though it, together?" Cat said, reaching for his hand.

Ned looked at where their hands met, his fingers entwined with hers, he could feel her eyes on him, he finally looked up to meet her eye, he gently squeezed her hand and nodded.

"Thank you" Cat said, still not moving her hand.

They stayed like that for a while, they had been sat in this cafe a little under an hour now and they decided it was time to leave.

They gathered their things and left, having already paid for their drinks upon ordering them, the pair took a long walk towards the park, they had walked through there a few times before, the path at the side of the lake was lined with rhododendrons,  
/Catelyn's favourite flower. The swans on the lake often swam in pairs, and there were what felt like hundreds of ducks lining the pathway.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Ned asked out of the blue

Catelyn smiled to herself "yes, I thought you were very unimpressive compared to your brother" She teased

"And now what do you think?" He asked her.

"I wish I'd met you first" she said suddenly, she soon felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks, luckily it was a warm day so she could blame it on the heat.

"Really?" Ned asked, sounding as though he didn't hear her right.

"I said I'd rather have met you first" Cat said, all of a sudden becoming confident in herself.

"Well, to be honest I wish I had met you before my brother, you deserve so much better than him" Ned admitted, it was as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders, he could express his feelings to her which is something he seemed never to have been  
/able to do before.

Catelyn picked up on this tone, she stopped walking forward and instead moved to her left, there was a gap in the trees that led through to a natural made room of trees and flowers, Ned followed her.

They sat down on a bench that had been placed facing the lake at the back of the park, Cat was the first to speak up.

"Are you suggesting you would be better for me than your brother?" She asked, almost jokingly.

"Well. No... I was just saying that..." Ned began awkwardly before Cat cut him off.

"I agree with you, not because I think I personally deserve better than what I've got but i think anyone who is stuck with your brother deserves better, and quite frankly, you are better than your brother no matter how much you put yourself down." Cat  
/said, she was now holding his hand.

Ned didn't know what he was doing, it was a spontaneous action, he placed a hand on her cheek and strokes a finger across the smooth skin, his hand moves around to the back of her head and he moved his head closer to hers, their lips met cautiously atfirst,  
but when they established that they knew what they were doing, and neither seemed to be in doubt about it, it intensified.

Catelyn moved a hand to his face, stroking his beard, she was glad she had left her hair down today, Ned seemed to love stroking his fingers through it.

When she moaned, Ned took the opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth, her lips were dry, yet warm and welcoming. They knew what they were doing was wrong, but Catelyn couldn't bring herself I feel bad about it, after all the hurt Brandon had caused  
/her, she deserved a thread of happiness.

She was glad Ned was the one providing it for her.


	3. Family dinner

**Ned**

* * *

It had been 6 days since Ned had kissed her, last Wednesday, under the tree, away from any form of life other than themselves. They had stayed together the rest of the day, picked up their children, went back to hisapartment, they even went as faras  
cooking a meal together.

Today was Tuesday, and that did not only mean school for the kids, but it meant after school, the family would gather at Catelyn's and Ned would have to suffer through a meal with them.

However, it was for the sake of his niece so he kept reminding himself that and, with that in mind, he went to wake up his son to get him ready for school.

Being only four, Jon wasn't very smart. He was still oblivious to the obvious situation himself and Cat were in, which made it all the worse when he asked 'Daddy, will you and auntie Cat give me a party?' Not only did that make Ned feel guilty for not  
/doing anything in celebration of his sons fourth birthday, but he felt guilty regarding Catelyn.

She was married, and he had helped her to break that bond by kissing her, he knew she didn't regret it, and in all honesty, his regrets were limited, but he still couldn't shake the feeling of wanting to feel her skin on his, wanting to kiss her all over  
/her body, wanting to make her scream.

These thoughts occupied his mind all morning, so when she came into view in the children's playground, kneeling down to talk to Lana, his mind slipped back to 6 days ago, to the feel of his tongue in her mouth, the feel of her lips on his, the feel ofher  
beautiful hair as it ran through his fingers.

Before he knew it, he was stood before her. Since last week, they had been standing closer together in the mornings, yesterday, he had even kissed her in the cheek, sparking a blush that spread down her neck to the top of her cleavage. Gods, Ned wanted  
tosee how far down it truly spread.

"Good morning" She said, he must have been staring.

"Morning" Ned said, clearing his throat before speaking.

"How've you been?" She asked, repositioningthe bag on her shoulder.

"Me? I've been great, thanks, You all set for tonight?" He asked

"Yeah. Yeah I am, not sure about your brother though" She said, her voice trailing off at the end.

"What do you mean? He will be ther won't he? Because if he's not going to I'll go and speak to him and..." Ned began but Cat stopped him.

"He will be there. He just said not to count on him staying the whole night" She said, making it sound less than it was.

"He infuriates me sometimes!" Ned said, anger rising in his tone.

A few other parents turned to look at them, Catelyn told him to please keep his voice lower and he obliged with an embarrassed nod.

"Look, if he's not there the whole night... So what? Let him go out..." Cat said, almost suggestively.

"Catelyn" Ned said, his sombre look returning.

"What?" She questioned, taking her eyes away from him and looking back the direction of her daughter.

"Please tell me I interpreted than wrong" He said, through the idea she was suggesting was not one he would be sad to oblige to.

"Depends what you thought I was interpreting" She said, not looking back his way.

Ned was about to say something else, but the bell tolled, you could almost say he was 'saved by the bell' but some part of him did want to carry on this conversation...

Lana and Jon came running back their way to gather their things, once they were safely inside and ready for the day, Ned and Cat ventured to the shop to buy food for later.

* * *

With two children safely in the backseat of Ned's car, and Catelyn sat in the front seat, they began the drive away from the school and back to Catelyn's.

Lana had changed her mind about a party, she now wanted to invite three friends to come, Catelyn had initially said no but her daughter gave a convincing argument, so now, Danaerys Targaryen, Margaery Tyrell and Mrycella Baratheon were attending the meal  
/as well. Jon had of course protested to beingaccompanied by four girls so Ned had politely requested if Jon too, could bring a friend. Now, Theyhad to deal with Sam Tarly coming. Catelyn had to make another run to the shop, she hadnever seen  
a boy eat so much.

They pulled up onto the driveway and got their children out of the back, they could expect the others arriving any time, at request of the parents they had all returned home to drop off their bags and get changed.

The food was already set out on the table, Ned and Cat had spent a few hours preparing it all.

Lana and Jon ran off upstairs with their bags to get changed and Ned and Cat walked through into the kitchen.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Ned asked, Cat was stood at the sink washing a cup they had used earlier, he came up behind her, startling her slightly when he rested his hands on her waist.

"What can be less stressful than 11 adults, all of whom will likely drink too much and 6 four year olds, all of whom will be running around, and possibly throwing up everywhere?" She said, drying the cup and leaving it on the side, she turned around to  
faceNed, his hands still resting on her hips.

"We'll get through it" He smiled

"We?" Cat questioned

"We" Ned confirmed, he leaned down to kiss her, this time there was no hesitations, she kissed him full of the lips and moved her arms around his neck. Ned brought one hand up into her hair, as he had done before. He inhaled the scent of her, the lightspray  
of perfume, the shampoo she had used to treat her hair.

His tongue was interlocking with hers, they kissed with a comfortable rhythm. She moved her hands down to his waist, as he brought his other hand to her face. He moved away from her lips and kissed her neck, once again breathing in the smell of her hair.

He should stop. She should tell him to stop, but neither did. Nor would they if it were not for the knock at the door, they slowly broke away from each other, her face was slightly flushed so he went to the door, leaving her there in the kitchen.

When Ned returned, he was holding the hand of a small child, she had beautiful silver hair and her lilac eyes were spectacular. The young girl looked slightly intimidated so Catelyn walked up to her and knelt down so they were at eye level.

"You must be Daenerys?" Cat said.

The young girl nodded shyly.

"Has anyone ever told you how utterly beautiful you are?" She said, flattery often worked on children.

The girl didn't say anything, she insteadbrought her hand to her mouth, smiling as she bit her thumb and twisted her toes gracefully on the spot.

"How about I show you upstairs to where Lana is, eh?" Cat said, standing up and offering her hand out for Dany.

The girl took it and they wakes up the stairs, Catelyn opened the door and Lana immediately ran to give her a hug, smiling, Cat closed the door and headed down stairs.

She barely reached the bottom step before the doorbell went again, this time, it was Lyanna and Robert stood at the other side. Cat smiled and invited them in, Nedwalked through and greeted his sister and his best friend, they then walked through

to the kitchen where they took a seat at the table.

Ned left Cat talking to them as he excused himself to go to the bathroom, once there, he looked at himself in the mirror. _What am I doing?_ He thought to himself. _She is married. You can't kiss her whenever you want to!_ He was cursing  
/himself now, this was madness. He had fallen in love with his brothers wife.

He heard the door go off again, some other people will be arriving, then more, then more, there will be so many it will be hard to keep track, lucky for them, this house was pretty big, hopefully nobody required to stay the night though.

Ned used the toilet, washed his hands and left again. Hovering outside Lana's room, listening to the children play, it sounds like some more children had arrived so Ned took it upon himself to enter.

"Hey kids, how are we all?" He asked, Margaery and Sam were now sat with the others, playing a game of something than kids played that Ned did not properly understand.

"Fine" Lana replied happily, Jon gave a smile before looking back towards Sam.

The other children payed him no heed, he didn't mindthough, he closed the door and went back down the stairs.

* * *

About an hour later, everyone was here. Cat had poured drinks for her sister, who Cat was sure was on the verge of alcoholism. Petyr never stopped looking at her, and Ned never stopped looking at him, Ned was presided to attack should he need to.

Edmure and Benjen weretalking with Ned's father, and his own, Lya and Robert were talking on their own, leaving Ned and Cat to themselves once more. Brandon was no where to be seen.

Catelyn called the children down from upstairs and they all found somewhere to eat, the meal didn't last long, thankfully and there was only one awkward question from Cat's father about how Brandon was.

The rest was bearable.

The children returned home at around 6, save Jon and Benjen was the first of the elders to make his way out.

"I'll see you another time, brother" he'd said as he had left the house, seeing Ben was almost as rare as seeing Ed. they were the allusive ones in the family. Apart from Brandon, he just wasn't discrete about it.

"It was lovely seeing you Catelyn, I'll just head up to say bye to Lana and I'll be on my way, do you want a lift, Edmure?" Hoster Tully asked as he made his goodbye talk, he gave his daughters a hug, then went on to hug everyone else. Then he left withEd,  
who had accepted the ride home, Cat suspected the offer was something to do with the factEdmurementioned the bus ride here was spent with two screaming children and one OAP sat next to him who never shut up about turnips.

Rickard was the next to leave, he gave his goodbyes and thanksto everyone and made an exit.

Then Lya and Robert, Robert spent a good five minutes saying bye to Jon and Lana, then another five saying bye to Ned himself. Lyanna demanded a piece of cake to leave with and Cat gave her some, so long as she promised not to say anything to Lana. Smiling,  
theyleft.

The final goodbye was more than awkward, Lysa gave her sister a hug, then she made for the car, not saying goodbye to Lana, which annoyed Cat. Ned was stood closely behind her when Petyr was saying goodbye.

"It was lovely to see you, maybe you can come and visit me some time" he said before adding "And Lysa" almost as an afterthought.

"Maybe" Cat said, she was often curteous to people who wanted to make plans. But not him.

He went to go hug her but Cat shut the door in his face. Ned laughed at that.

"Well. I'm glad that's over" She said, leaning against the door.

"It was great food. But me too" Ned agreed.

"Do you want a drink or something?" Cat said, standing up straight again.

"No, I think I'm all drunk up" Ned said, causing Cat to laugh slightly.

"Lana needs putting to sleep, she can stop with Jon tonight if you don't want to drive home?" Cat offered, subtly offering Ned to stay the night, which he picked up on.

"Even ThoughI live 5 minuets away, I guess I could stay, after all, I don't want to put Jon to bed too late" He smirked, to which Cat reciprocated.

Cat got her daughter to sleep in record time, she must've been knocked out by all the food she'd eaten. Jon fell asleep shortly afterwards. Cat found it cute how they were in the same bed.

Catelyn walked to her bedroom, she did not hear Ned behind her until the door clicked shut.

She turned where she stood and waited for him to walk up to her, He grabbed her waist and kissed her again. She responded with passion.

Catelyn broke away from the kiss when she felt the need for air, her hair had collected a few knots so she walked away from him to brush it.

She smiled to herself, she could see how much he loved watching her brush through it. It took her a remarkably short amount of time to brush it, she placed the brush back down on the dressing table, then placedone hand on it, leaving toward it,a  
welcoming look crossing her cheeks.

"Are you going to kiss me, or what?" She asked.

Ned didn't need asking twice, he approached her and their lips met yet again, she moved her hand from the table to his face, his hands were in her hair.

They were kissing for a while, then Ned broke away, a few breathless words leaving his mouth "Will Brandon come home?" He asked.

"No." Catelyn said, sounding sure of herself. It was enough for Ned because his hands went for the bottom of her vest top, she smiled at him, then lifted her arms up so he could remove her top.

His eyes roamed her flat stomach, her breasts, her waist, her perfect skin. His hands rested on the curve of her waist and she kissed him this time, but while kissing, she took his top off as well. She admired his ability to tan in February. He was lesstoned  
than Brandon, but still strong-looking.

He moved them to the bed, she fell backwards and he climbed between her legs, he began unbuttoning her jeans, she smiled at him the whole time, he placed kisses down her flat stomach as he pulled them down, she kicked them off when they reached her  
pulled him up to her lips again, they kissed once more and Cat began at the ties of his trousers, he moved his lips to her neck as she did so.

Soon, they were in nothing but underwear, Cat rolled them so she was on top, she reached behind her and cautiously removed her bra. She pulled it off and it fell off the bed. He once again looked at her, her lose hair came to cover her full breasts andhe  
pushed it over her shoulders, he brought a hand to one of them, it fitting perfectly into his large hands.

She let out a moan at the contact, she loved his skin on hers. She loved that he knew what to do to her. She loved him.

Catelyn moved from the bed, grabbing his hands and pulling him so he was stood up, the question in his eyes was evident, so she winked at him and smiled when they were stood facing each other.

She gave him another wink, then she grabbed his cock in one hand, with practiced movements, she watched as he began moaning and wanting to kiss her again.

She went down to her knees and pulled down his boxers, she smiled to herself before taking him in her mouth, at the contact, Ned let out another moan, it was over quickly, and he came crying her name.

She stood to face him, he kissed her fiercely, pushing her to the bed, he held her hands above her head with one hand, and using his other hand to massage her crotch, she moaned at the contact, she began chanting his name and begging him to keep going.

Just before she came apart under his grasp, he took his fingers out of her, giving her enough time to calm down once more, he kissed her stomach as he got closer to her core.

He kissed and licked her folds, listening as she moaned once more, she was biting down on the back of her hand, she didn't want to be too loud. Once again, just before she came apart, he came back up to her face, protests died on her lips when he kissed  
her.

He entered her with a quick movement, he went gently at first but speed intensified as time went on, one hand was swimming in her hair, the other was resting where they met, in body and in soul.

It didn't last long, Catelyn or Ned did not expect it to, when they both reached climax, he pulled out of her and rolled to the side, both still a bit breathless, she curled into his side, he wrapped his arms around her, one holding her upper arm, the  
other holdinghis hand.

Ned wished he could've met her first. Then this would be normal. Lana may even have been his child, and Jon may have been hers. But that was not the way it was.

Cat and Nedwere now on anequal playing field with Brandon, though, they feared it would hurt to know you had been cheated on with your own brother than it would just the random whores Brandon beds.

Knowing the likelihood of Brandon returning home was slim, Ned fell asleep with the woman he lovedin in his arms, this would be perfect. They just had to really on not being caught.

TBC...


	4. The morning after

**Chapter 4.**

* * *

The sun was not yet seeping through the curtains, there was a thick layer of dew in the early morning air, accompanied by a cold layer of condensation on the window, the droplets slowly giving in to gravity and being pulled towards the pool at the  
bottom of the glass pane.

She raised her hands above her head, letting out a small noise as she stretched her muscles untilthey woke.

She rolled to her left, and was left facing yet another mans back, not her husbands, thankfully, but this man was the one she truly wanted there, the one who she loved.

She smiled, thankful he had stayed, a part of her was worried that he may have left, for fear his brother may appear. But he was here, confident in his bare body, sharing her bed.

She rolled over, awkwardly reaching for her phone, she pressed the home screen revealing her favourite photograph she had of herself and Lana, the day when she first went on holiday with them, Lana is smiling and hugging her mother as they sat by the  
pool, Cat remembers taking the photo, and afterwards, she had gone to find Brandon, he had been drunk and was laying on the bed, face buried in pillows, Cat remembers laughing at him and him telling her it was not funny, causing her to laugh more.

It was one of the only decent memories she had of the three of them together.

Bringing herself back to the present, she looked at the time, which read 6:48, and remembered to was Wednesday. Consequently, Catelyn quietly stepped out of bed, trying her best not to wake Ned.

She padded across the room, completely bare, the room itself was not cold, but there was a small coldwave that was radiating from the window that hit her.

She underestimated how deep of a sleeper Ned was, for when he spoke it startled her to the point she nearly fell over.

"That's not a bad sight to wake up to" He complimented.

"Are you staring?" She asked playfully.

"So what if I am?" He teased.

She spun around on her heel, her hair falling in tangles over her breasts as she walked up to him,she placed one hand either side of him, trapping his body best she could under the sheets. She lent down and their lips met briefly. Her hair was poolingaround  
his face and he was breathing in the scent.

She was smiling, as was he, he wanted to reach for her face but his arms were caught under the covers, luckily, he was stronger than Catelyn, so he easily managed to push himself up.

He now had his arms free, he brought one to her face and stroked her cheek, he pulled her into a kiss, it was immediately passionate. She smiled as they kissed, knowing they did not have time.

She eventually pulled away, and walked back to the wardrobe, beginning to dress, Ned did the same.

They dressed together, and once ready, Cat made to leave but Ned grabbed her arm.

"What?" She asked, smiling as she faced him.

She had her hands in his chest, looking up at him for he was considerably taller.

"Nothing, I just like looking at you" He said

"I can tell" Cat said, adding a small laugh to the end. "I need to get the kids' food ready" she said, frowning slightly.

"Ok, but one thing first"

"What?" She questioned

Ned kissed her again, she closed her eyes, as did he, his tongue explored hers in a bout of momentary passion.

They broke off once more, smiling st each other again. They had been nothing but happy these past few days and not a lot could change that.

Cat left the room, Ned followingbehind her, she went to make the food for the kids as he did the harder job of waking them from sleep.

Cat knew what Jon liked for his food, his and Lana's dinners were different and Cat did not remember how she knew, but was gladshe did. She made the food and found Jon's lunch box, it was in his bag and was soon loaded with food, as was Lana's.

Soon, the four of them were gathered around the island in the centre of the kitchen, Cat and Ned were sharing some toast whilst the kids had demanded waffles, to which Cat had obliged to make, so long as they promised to eat them all.

Ned and Cat kept smiling at each other, they couldn't help it, they were just thankful that the kids were four, and had no idea of the implications of those smiles.

Once the kids had finished enough of the food for Cat to agree that her time had been well spent making them, she gathered their stuff and they jumped into the car, making their way to the school. 

* * *

The children were well behaved, and the drop off had gone smoothly, as they always did. Today, Cat had agreed to go back to Ned's place.

He lived in an apartment, opposed to a house, it was on the 6th floor of one of the nicest apartment complex's in the area, she loved the view, it may have only been the 6th floor but they were stillup high enough to see a long way.

"I never get tired of seeing this" Cat said as she stood staring out of the big glass window in his lounge.

"Neither do I" Ned said, but when she turned to look at him, he was looking at her, not the view.

"You're such a charmer when you want to be, you know that right?" She said, looking out of the window again.

"I do try" He said, taking a few steps closer to her.

"I can tell" Cat said, feeling the heat coming from his body stood behind her.

His hands came to rest on her hips, they now both looked out of the window.

"What are we going to do?" Catelyn asked, a sudden wave of sadness overcoming her.

"Well, we'll be careful, and we'll stop this if it goes too far" Ned said

"I don't want to stop this. Ever" Catelyn said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"Neither do I, so you could just-" He began but was interrupted by her

"I don't think I can divorce him" She said, reading his mind.

"Catelyn, he is causing you nothing but hurt" Ned argued.

"Ned, please tell me you are not telling me to divorce your brother so you can be with me" Cat said

"Why? Would I be wrong? It's not like you don't want to-" He started, but was once again interrupted. She had now turned around and was facing him, her hands were holding his.

"Of course I want to. I want to be with you so much more than your brother it's unreal to even put into words, but that's the issue. He's your brother, he will never be out of our lives." Cat said, looking him in the eye.

He avoided her stare, squeezing her hands slightly before speaking "Catelyn, please I wouldn't ask this if you unless I thought it was good for you"

"But what about Lana?" Cat added.

"He's hardly much of a dad, is he? It's not like he will fight for her" Ned said, it coming off more harsh than intended.

Catelyn let go of his hands now, and tooka step back. "I know Brandon does not want his daughter. But that does not mean I can't try to make him see what he is missing"

"And he will see what he is missing every time he sees Lana with me."

"Ned, you already have a child, it would confuse her at such a young age, as would it confuse Jon and I can't put that stress on my daughter. What if she Asks for Brandon?"

"Has she ever asked for him before?"

"No. Not exactly anyway, she does miss him"

"Has she said as much?" Ned questioned.

"Ned, please stop with the 20 questions thing, it's tiring" She said, her temper rising slightly.

"Look, Cat, I'm sorry ok but I know this is best for you"

"No, you don't know what's best for me, we've had sex once and suddenly I'm yours?" She said, her temper now becoming clear.

"You know that is not what I meant" He said sternly.

"Look, I will not divorce Brandon, not now anyway, I will continue to be with you because I do not think I can live without you anymore. I'm sorry for yelling" Cat concluded, approaching him again.

Ned opened his arms, she wrapped herself into his body and let a few more tears fall down her cheeks, she did love Ned, more so than she did Brandon.

"I'm sorry too, I just-" Ned began "I just want you to be happy" he ended, pulling back to look at her face.

"I know you do, and this way is how we'll do it, for now anyway, maybe when Lana is older and understands but for now. Please keep this to ourselves." Cat pleaded.

"Ok" Ned said, bringing her back into a hug and tightly embracing her so she knew shewas safe with him, no matter what, he would be there for her.


	5. School Holidays

Two months had rolled by, Summer was slowly turning into Autumn, and the days grew colder and shorter. Lana was now coming up to her 3rd week off school, they were currently on Summer break which meant a lot of time off work, a lot of money being spent  
/on food, and what felt like hundreds of children coming in and out oftheir home every day.

Brandon still worked in the Summer break, he never took days off, leaving Cat torisk her job every time she picked up the phone to beg her boss for yet another absent day.

She awoke this morning to the sound of Lana, crying in her room.

Instinctively, Catelyn had rushed out of the room, heading straight for her daughters room, practically throwing the door open, she found her child sat in the floor, reading a picture book, tears coming from her beautiful blue eyes.

"What's the matter, darling?" Catelyn asked, scooping up her daughter and carrying her the short distance to her bed. Lana was now comfortably sat on her leg.

"Mary and her daddy went to the beach in my book" the young girl said

"Why are you upset?" She asked, slightly confused, stroking a hand through the locks of curly brown hair

"My daddy never takes me to the beach. Daddy is never here" The Younggirl cried.

"Oh, sweetling, mummy will take you to the beach if you wanted to go" Cat said, trying to deter the topic of Lana's father.

"I don't want the beach. I want a daddy" Lana said, curling herself into Catelyn, her small arms reaching as best she could around her, whereas Cat could easily embrace her daughter.

Cat was speechless. There was nothing to be said, a daughter strived for attention from her father, but he was never there to provide.

"How about me and you go into town and you can buy a new toy? Would you like that?" Catelyn finally said, peeling her daughter from her body as to look her in the eye.

The girl nodded weakly, consequently, Cat placed her on the bed and picked out some clothes for her.

* * *

They had been shopping for two hours now, and Cat was at least £100 worse off thanwhen she left the house.

The entire time, Lana looked to be enjoying herself but Cat could never take her mind off Brandon, she had been spending so much time with Ned these past two months, she had barely even spoken to him. She felt guilty, it was not fair on Lana, under no  
/circumstances was seeing Ned ok, she knew that, but she still couldn't stop herself.

Every time Ned called her to ask if she was ok, or to see if Lana wanted to come see Jon for a while, her heart twitched with happiness. She had said yes every time.

After their dispute about Brandon, he had never been mentioned again, but he was still the underlying issue.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her daughter squeezing her hand to grab her attention.

"What's up, Lana?" She asked, looking down towards her daughter.

"I'm hungry" her daughter said, a wide smile on her face.

"What do you want to eat?" Catelyn asked, smiling at her.

"I don't know" Lana responded in her typical 'four-year-old voice'

"How about a sandwich?" Cat said, beginning to offer suggestions.

Lana shook her head

"Give me some idea what you want" Cat said, pleading with her almost.

"Jon" Lana said, jumping as she said her cousins name.

It took Cat a second to register what she meant "You want to go eat _with_ Jon?" Catelyn confirmed.

Lana nodded.

"Ok, come on then, let's hope they don't mind us dropping in on them"

* * *

The drive was relatively short, Ned didn't live too far away from town thankfully. Cat had text in advance but he hadn't replied, she grew anxious their presence wouldn't be wanted.

She didn't know why she felt to nervous, she never had before, there had been countless occasions upon which she had surprisingly turned up at his door, and he had always let her in.

She didn't know why being with Lana was any different, she was more nervous about turning up with areason instead of without any inparticular.

By the time her thoughtshad finished piling up in her head, she was turning into the car park of the apartment complex. Leaving the car where she always did, she jumped out and retrieved Lana from her seat in the back.

Lana had a strange thing about being in lifts, she always wanted to press the button, then she always had to stand in the back left corner, Cat found it extremely odd but couldn't hold back a laugh every time he daughter would press the number floor,  
/then run to the back corner.

The door opened and they walked down to his apartment. Lana ran ahead and knockedon the door.

Ned was already at the door before Cat could catch up with her, Lana jumped into Ned's arms as he was greeting her with a very surprised tone.

"Hey" Cat smiled, finally reaching the door.

"Hello" Ned smiled, moving aside to let her past.

She placed her bag on the table in the kitchen, then she walked back to where Ned was still holding Lana.

"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Ned asked Lana.

"I want to eat Jon" Lana laughed, earning a shocked expression from her uncle, who then turned to look a Cat, his shock turning to confusion.

"She means she wants to see if Jon is available to eat with her" Cat said, bringing a hand to her mouth as she let out a small laugh.

"Well, I'm sure Jon will be delighted to see you, why don't you run along and find him and I'll make you some food?" Ned asked, as he put Lana down.

"Thank you Uncle Ned!" Lana exclaimed as she ran off to find her cousin in the adjacent room.

After Lana had turned into Jon's room, Ned approached Catelyn, he grabbed her waist and pulled her into a heated kiss, her hands came up to his face, one of his hands found the back of her head whilst the other rested where it was, on her

had been over a week since they'd last seen each other.

"Hi" Cat said again, a smile on her face as she pulled away.

"Hello again" Ned said, matching her smile.

"We better get cooking, Lana hasalready bled me dry today, if I don't feed her I fear I'll have to buy something else in its place" Cat said, laughing to herself.

"You've been shopping then?" He asked, walking into the kitchen with her following.

"Yes, we've been in town most of the day"

"Any particular reason?" Ned asked, getting some food from the cupboard.

"Well, I felt I owed it to her, she was crying this morning because she wanted her father" Cat explained, she came and stood next to him, leaning against one of the counter tops and folding her arms.

"WhyWas she upset about it?" Ned asked

"It was because in one of her story books, a father takes his daughter to the beach, and she asked me why her father wasn't there" She explained further. 

"Cat, I'm so sorry"

"You don't need to apologise for anything, it's hardly your fault, is it?"

"It still feels it though" Ned said, now fixing together some sandwiches

"How come? You can't control Brandon" She asked, confused.

"I know I can't but I still feel like I need to help you somehow"

"You are helping me, Ned, without you I don't know what I'd do, I certainly wouldn't be here watching you fead my childfor me" She laughed.

"Yes, well, I do try" He said, looking down at the food he'd just made.

"You do a hell of a good job, Mr. Stark" she complimented.

He responded by kissing her again, she smiled as he kissed her with such familiarity, she had felt more secure with him in these past months than she had with Brandon in the four years they'd been together.

Ned broke away from her, pushing a straypiece of hair behind her ear, she had tied it back in a plait today so the strand looked a bit out of place behind her ear, neither Ned or Cat caredthough.

"Kids" he yelled, grabbing their attention so they came and got food.

Two sets of footprints could be heard throughout the apartment, they were hurriedly approaching the kitchen. Suddenly, two little faces appeared.

Ned handed out the plates of food and they took them back through to Jon's room.

"You're welcome" Ned laughed as they ran out of the room.

"They're good kids, aren't they?" Cat smiled as her giggle subsided.

"Yeah, they have great parents" Ned said, winking at her.

"Yeah. Jon does"

"You're saying you're _not a_ good parent?" Ned questioned, placing the towel down he used to dry the cutlery he just washed and coming to stand in front of her.

"I'm saying that Lana didn't get what she deserved"

Ned placed a hand either side of her waist, resting on the counter top, pinning her in place before speaking "Brandon is a shit father, that is no secret, but you Catelyn, you are the best mother any child could ever want"

"You're just saying that" She said, looking him in the eye.

"No, I'm saying it because it's true, what's the use in lying? If you were a bad parent, I would tell you and I'd make sure you sorted it out" Ned admitted.

"Thank you- I guess" Cat said, not really sure the correct way to respond.

"You're welcome" He smiled, he didn't move though.

"I suppose you want something now?" Cat questioned, picking up on why he hasn't moved.

"I don't want a thing, though, a kiss would be nice" He said, causing Cat to smile.

She leaned forward and kissed him briefly on the cheek.

Ned looked at her, raised an eyebrow and moved away from her again. "You are a cruel woman" he said, as she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge for both of them.

She accepted the drink and walked through to the living room, striding though moving her hips more than usual to prove a point.

Ned wasn't long to follow.

* * *

It had been a good few hours, the children were making limited noise in the other room and the sun was only just fading behind one of the other buildings visible from the lounge window.

They had the TV on in the background, but they weren't really listening to it, they were more focuses on their own conversation.

They didn't really talk about anything out of the ordinary, most of the time, they just had the normal conversation you would have with a friend, nothing too special was mentioned.

Sometimes Ned would talk about music, which would always wrap back around to the terrible concert he went to see with Lyanna when she was 16 and he 18, it was some heavy metal music, which Ned despised.

Then Cat would talk about being a child, and tell a story about her and her siblings, and occasionally Petyr but most of the time, whenever his name was mentioned, Ned would get progressively angry.

Then the children, they were always a lot to talk about, something Jon had done at school that was very good, or something Lana had said that made the crowd listening laugh.

They were no different to any other friends, only, their friendship was more. It was very complicated, and very difficult to understand even between themselves.

"Would you change our lives, if you could?" Cat asked him

"Depends what aspects you're talking about changing?"

"I mean, would you make it so we weren't... You know... And Brandon actually gave a shit?" She asked

"No, nothing on this planet would make me wish you away" He said, rather calmly.

"Ned" _I love you_ wason the tip of her tongue.

"Yes?"

 _I love you and I want to be with you "_ do you want another drink?" She asked

"No, I'm alright thanks" he said, holding up his glass to show her he still had enough left.

Cat got up and walked into the kitchen, she opened the fridge and retrieved yet another bottle.

She placed it on the counter top, and rested her elbows on the surface next to it, her head falling into her hands.

She didn't hear Ned walk in, so when he spoke, she jumped slightly

"Are you alright, Cat?" He asked.

"I- Ned look, I uh." She stuttered.

"What is it?" He asked again.

"I. I love you" She said, the words falling from her tongue at a speed so quick he almost didn't hear them.

He looked at her for a minute, taking another few steps so they were close enough to be touching each other.

"I love you too, Catelyn" Ned said, before kissing her fully on the lips, her hands came to his face once more and her eyes closed at the contact.

His hands roamed up the side of her body, her white top fitting tightly over her figure, highlighting her features.

He continued kissing her and just as he was about to slip a hand under her top, a small voice sounded from the doorway.

"Daddy?"

In a second, they were away from each other, and trying to remain calm, they looked at each other and then looked to the young boy stood in the doorway.

"Jon" Ned said "What, what do you want mate?" He asked, slightly breathless

"Me and Lana wanted a drink"

"Where is Lana?" Catelyn asked, her stomach twisting in fear

"She ran back to my room"

"She- she saw?" Catelyn asked, her line of vision shooting back to Ned, worry clear in her cobalt blue eyes, her stomach feeling as though a knife was being twisted around.

Jon nodded.


	6. Kissing Your Bestfriend

Catelyn felt lightheaded, her daughter was only four, surely she had not truly understood what she saw, she can't have. There had to be another reason she ran back to Jon's room.

Not looking at Ned, Cat jogged out of the kitchen, lightly brushing past Jon, she headed hurriedly for his room.

The door was closed, Cat knocked lightly with her index finger, not waiting for a response before opening the door.

Lana was sat in the quiet, her legs crossed and her small arms folded over her chest, her cheeks had faded a light pink colour from the heat that hadgathered in the room.

"Lana" Cat said, yearning for attention from her child.

The young Starkstayed quiet, she didn't even turn to look at her mother.

"Lana, honey, please talk to me, what's the matter?" Cat said, desperately wanting to embrace her child but instead just takinga seat on the floor next to her, tucking her legs up to her body and resting her head on her knees.

"Do you love Daddy?" Her daughter asked.

Lana was four. She should not be having this conversation with her, with any hope by the time she was five she would forget this ever happened.

"Yes" Catelyn said, her voice was emotionless though.

"So, you don't love Uncle Ned?"

"Lana, your uncle is a really good friend to me, and I love him in a different way from how Ilove your father" _in that I don't love Brandon, I love Ned._ Catelyn thought to herself after speaking.

"Is Uncle Ned your best friend? Because Dany is my best friend and I don't kiss her" Lana said, unfolding her arms and finally looking at Cat.

"Uncle Ned is my friend yes, and I was just... Saying thank you for having us round for dinner" _she's four, she will forget about this._ Cat reminded herself.

"Oh. Okay then"

"Come on, give me a hug" Cat said, opening her arms to her daughter, Lana kept into her arms and was smiling as she always had done before. 

* * *

Ned was sat on the couch waiting for Catelyn, she was still in the bedroom with the kids, Jon had followed her in not long afterwards and the soft hum of her voice could be heard from where he was.

The house went silent, and then there was the soft click of the door closing, and then Cat appeared, her light silhouette following behind her as she walked.

She walked over to him and took a seat next to where he was, his arm instinctively wrapping around her and pulling her closer to his body.

She curled into his side. "I hope Lana doesn't kiss Dany when she sees her next" Cat said

"Why would she do that?" Ned asked, sniggering slightly.

"Because according to me, you kiss your best friend" Cat said, turning her head into his side in embarrassment

"You said that?" Ned said, backing up a little and turning his head to look at hers as best he could.

She nodded into his side.

"Well, I'venever heard that one before but so long as I'm considered your best friend then I'm alright" Ned admitted.

"You are, you're my best friend and I love you" Cat said, now turning her head up to look at him.

He moved his head the extra distance down and kissed her. She closed her eyes as their lips met, opening her mouth instantly at his touch.

"You put the kids to sleep, right?" Ned asked when they broke for air.

Catelyn nodded.

"And there is no way any child could walk out of their room and see any what could be classed as inappropriate behaviour from either parent?" Ned asked.

"Not sure I could be that specific, but for the most part, no, we should be left alone for a while" Catelyn confirmed.

"Good" Ned murmured, he jumped up, startling Cat slightly and he pulled her to her feet, their lips met as soon as she regained balance and Ned walked them both through to his bedroom.

The door closed with a soft click and Cat gave him a mischievous smile as she turned back to him, helping her hands on the door handle behind her back.

Ned grabbed her hands and held them where they were and kissed her again, this time with more force, he ran his hands through her lose hair that somehow was not knotty.

His back hit the bed, and he let go of her wrists so she wouldn't fall. She straddled him, her hands resting on his face as she kissed him passionately. One of this hands found refuge in her hair and the other on her thigh.

She moved her hands to the buttons on his top, revealing his chest.

Catelyn was still smiling, she moved away from his kissto unbutton that last few buttons, when his front was fully on show she moved her hands across the muscles, listening as he hissed softy at her touch because of the cold nature of her hands.

He sat up so he could pull his top from his body, exposing his full top half. He remained sat up, with Catelyn on his lap, they kissed once more, this time breaking away from each other when Ned's hands guided her top over her head.

His hands rested on her hips, over the last two months, they had developed an understanding of each others' bodies. He knew what made her smile opposed to what made her cry out his name, as did she for him.

This also wasn't the first time there had been children in the house, so they knew they had to be quiet. Consequently, she bit down on his shoulder when his hand crept down the front of her jeans and began stroking her.

They didn't wastemuch time stripping down to underwear, she knew how much he loved watching her, so she slowly reached behind her back, unclippedher bra and pulled it off.

He smiled at her, and his hands rested on her hips, before moving down, taking her underwear with him, she sat upright to get them pay her knees and then awkwardly shook them off her feet.

He stared at her again, pulling her via her waist into another kiss, she moved her hands down his front and began pulling down his boxers.

Soon enough, they were both naked, a sight they had both seen before but Catelyn's stomach still twitched every time she saw him.

He rolled them so she was underneath, Catelyn didn't mind that he took more control, she liked it. Ned let out a soft moan, in unison with her, as he pushed himself inside her.

It was over too soon, she bit down on his shoulder instead of screaminghis name which she desired greatly to do. He wasn't long after her either, he was always better at staying silent.

Afterwards, he wrapped an arm over her shoulders, his arm acting as a pillow for her head.

"I love you" Ned said after they regained their breath.

"Don't let the kids hear you, Jon might end up saying it to Lana, I think the teachers would be a bit confused at that" Catelynsaid, ushering a laugh from both of them.

"Do you need to go home?" Ned asked her

"Why? So I can return to an empty house and think about where my husband is? No thanks" She said, snuggling even further down into his hold. "I'm fine right here" She added, almost as an afterthought.

"What about Lana?"

"What about her? She'll be alright here if that's what you mean, are you trying to get rid of me here, Ned?" She asked jokingly.

"No, not at all I was just thinking if she needed clothes or..." He began but was stopped by her lips.

"Ned, I'm staying here tonight, Lana will be fine, I bought her new clothes earlier anyway if she is so adamant on getting changed, but other than that, I think we both deserve the right to spend at least one night as a normal couple" Cat explained, resting  
herself on one elbow so she could see him better.

"We're a couple now? Not just a secret?" Ned questioned

"Can we not be both?"

"I don't see why not" He smirked.

"Then it's settled then, boyfriend" she smiled

"Girlfriend" He winked.

And with that, they talked into the night, the room slowly darkened, and their conversation lessened the later it got, soon, they were both asleep, fast forwarding time to the next day. For the firsttime in the last two months, they both felt normal,  
they didn't feel anxious, and for however long it lasted, it was nice. The feeling was irreplaceable.


	7. Explanations

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for breakfast?" Ned asked as he watched her pull yesterday's top over her head, of which had previously been carelessly thrown across the room.

"Yes, Ned, I need to get Lana home, or she mighteven become more suspicious than she already is" Cat explained

"She's four, Cat, Idoubt she even knows what suspicion is"

"I'm not taking any chances, she is a smart girl after all" Cat said, now buttoning her jeans up.

"Ok then, but I will text you later" Ned encouraged.

"I know you will" Cat winked

Ned walked over to her, he was now also fully dressed. He held her waist and looked at her, she blushed slightly and smiled. He kissed her.

Catelyn pulled away first saying "we should be off, and I don't want any more unexpected spectators"

"Ok then, I'll see you later though" Ned said, walking her out of the room.

"Definitely" Cat said, smiling again.

"Lana, come on darling we need to go" Cat said, raising her voice a little to make sure her daughter heard her.

Lana and Jon came out of his room laughing, seeing her daughter smile never failed to bring a warm feeling to Catelyn's heart.

"Come on, have you got all your things?" Catelyn asked, bending over to meet her daughters eye, and intentionally doing so in front of Ned, giving him a generous view of her arse, which made his cheeks a little red seen as they were the in the presence  
of children.

Lana nodded, then turned to hug Jon, then she jumped up into Ned's arms to receive a farewell hug from him.

Catelyn hugged Jon and purposely didnt hug Ned upon leaving, the door closed behind her and theyheaded to the car.

* * *

Much to Catelyn's surprise, Brandon's car was on the drive when she turned into their estate.

Lana smiled, knowing that daddy was home, but Catelyn felt nervous, firstbecause she didn't want to walk in on Brandon and some woman in a compromising position, and second because she was sure he would quiz her on where she was.

Catelyn intentionally closed the car door loudly, so if he wasn't alone, he would now know to make himself somewhat presentable.

The door was unlocked, so Catelyn opened it for Lana and she went running through the house, straight up to her room to put her bags away.

Catelyn close the door and called out Brandon's name.

He emerged from the kitchen, he looked very clean for someone who probably didn't arrive home until the early hours this morning.

"Hey" Cat smiled.

"Hello" Brandon said sternly.

Catelyn was a bit lostfor words, she didn't know how to hold a conversation with him anymore.

Luckily, he spoke first, consequently confirming Catelyn's fear. "Where were you last night?" He asked.

"Lana wanted to see Jon so we ended up stopping at Ned's" Catelyn explained.

"Oh yeah? I thought his place was only two bedroom?"

"It is. I stayed on the couch" Catelyn lied.

"Really? You expect me to believe that?" Brandon said, he was leaningagainst the door frame of the kitchen with his arms folded across his chest.

"Yes, I do expect you to believethat Brandon, because it's the truth" Cat said, in a matter-of-fact tone

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes of course I'm sure about that! You're one to talk anyway, I only see you when you want some extra money oryou want to brag about something that happened at work"

"I'm doing neither of those things now" Brandon contradicted.

"Yes, instead you're accusing me of being a cheat, it seems" Catelyn said, trying to control her temper.

"I have every right" Brandon said, seeming rather calm.

"What? You must me kidding me, I'm not here for one night and I'm a cheat, you're never at home and you're innocent?" Catelyn complained.

"I've never cheated on you" He said, his voice going to a higher pitch.

"Really? So that time I caught you, what would you call that?" Catelyn interjected.

"That was a one off, Cat" he said, now trying to prove himself innocent.

"You're lying, Brandon" Catelyn said, now foldingher arms as well.

"Why would I cheat? We have a daughter together"

"Yes, a daughter who you pay no attention to, at all" Catelyn's emotions were all over the place, the mention of her daughter added sadness.

"Work is so busy, I took today off to be with her"

"Brandon, please just stop lying! It's tiresome!" Catelyn's angerwas now starting to show.

"Maybe you should stop as well then" Brandon argued

"I'm not lying, how many times do I have to say it?"

"Once more, and even then I wouldn't believe you, I have proof!" Brandon said, finally moving closer to her, his arms remained folded but he was close enough for Catelyn to smell some cheap perfume on his clothes.

"What proof?" Catelyn said, feeling confident but her stomach stillclenchedslightly.

"I found a hair" Brandon said

"You have got to be kidding me, right?" Catelyn said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, no I am not kidding, a brown hair in our bed"

"Brandon, I hate to break it to you, but you have brown hair " Catelyn said in a sarcastic tone, taking that last comment he made almost as a joke.

"Yes,But..." Brandon began

"Save your breath, Brandon" Catelynsaid, walking away from him.

"Wait, Cat, can I talk to you, alone?" Brandon asked.

"We are alone, dumbass" Catelyn almost laughed, she tuned to look up stairs and saw Lana sat at the top of the stairs, looking straight at them.

Suddenly, Catelyn felt incredibly guilty, how much could one girl take? This was not fair on her.

Nervously, Catelyn spoke, her voice trembling slightly "Lana, go to your room love, I'll come up and talk to you in a little while, yeah?" Cat pleaded.

The girl said nothing, only stood and walked to her room, her hair flowing behind her and her tiny feet taking frustrated steps.

"Why did you not say she was there?" Catelyn demanded.

"She was fine, it's not like we started having sex against the front door, is it?" Brandon joked.

"Stop being sarcastic" Catelyn said, desperately wanting to stay mad at him, she had always had a weakness for his comments, she would not give in today though.

"Ok, I'm sorry, can we?" Brandon asked, gesturing for them to walk back to the kitchen.

Catelyn walked in first and took a seat at the island in the middle of the room, Brandon taking the chair opposite.

"What?" Catelyn asked sternly.

"I don't want to fight all the time, I hate it" Brandon admitted.

"I don't like it either but it seems we have nothing other than harsh words."

"That's what I want to change, we can either call this a stop and end it before Lana is old enough to understand, or we fix it"

"How do we fix it? Put a bandageover it, you and I both know that would be like putting a plaster on a smashed window" Catelyn said, earning a sorrowful look from Brandon.

"So, is this it?"

"I think that would be best, while we're still friends" Catelyn said, thinking only about Lana.

"Where would you go? Because I'd sell this place" Brandon confessed.

It was not surprise to Catelyn, she had never thought about it before but now it was obvious. She took a moment tho think.

"I could get a cheap place back home" Cat suggested.

"But, that's nearly a three hour drive, Cat"

"Yes, well, I doubt you would want anything to do with Lana? You do nothing for her now, so long as you pay money every month then I'm ok with you not being there, but I can't afford her on my own"

"Yes, I'll pay whatever you want, but, what about her school? Her friends?" Brandon asked.

"I..." Catelyn had not though about that. "I can't afford for us to live here" she admitted.

"Ok then, so, you'll go home, get her to a school and then what?"

"I don't know, take each day as it comes?" Cat said, a ghost of a smiled appearing on her face.

Brandon smiled as well, he reached across the island to grab her hand, it was a friendly gesture, nothing more.

"I would say I'd miss you, but..." Catelyn said.

"Yeah, don't worry, I won't miss you at all" Brandon winked.

They both stoodup and walked up to each other, he hugged her, and she could still smell the perfume on his clothes. This was for the best, she had to keep telling herself that. She thought about nothing other than Lana.


	8. The Past Catches up with You

ICatelyn awoke to the sound of a crying baby, she had already been awoken several times during the night so she was very tired. Checking her phone, it was revealed to be 6am, she rolled over, her feet hitting the hard wood floor of her small apartment,  
and she began the walk to the children's room.

Lana was awake as well, she was sat at the end of the bed, staring at the cott under the widow, Cat trudged over to it and picked up the child, trying to calm him down.

"Shh, Robb it's ok, come on, please go back to sleep" she pleaded with her young son.

Robb was just over a month old, she had moved away two weeks after herself and Brandon had agreed to split up, she thought she was just moving Lana and herself away, it was a few more weeks before she found out about her pregnancy. She had no doubt that  
it was Ned's son, but she could not bring herself to tell him.

She was living in a small, two bedroom apartment about half a mile away from where she worked,she was currently off work on maternity leave but was still getting paid.

Her job didn't really pay enough to sustain the three of them, she thoughtabout Ned every day, how he must hate her, how he deserved to know he had a second son, how much she craved to see him, to hold him.

She had come close to calling him on numerous occasions, she cursed herself every time she put her phone away, this child deserves his father but because his mother was too scared to face him...

Robb had finally fallen asleep again, Catelyn walked over to her five year old daughter and took her by the hand, walking her out of the room.

When they were out of the door, she knelt down to speak to her.

"How is my little princess?" Cat asked, trying not to sound as tired as she felt, and looked.

"Tired" Lana said, yawning at the end to prove her point.

"How about you get ready for school, and I will make ussome breakfast?" Cat suggested, standing up straight.

Lana nodded, rubbing her eyes.

"Alright then" Cat said, ruffling her daughters hair, before sending her back into the room, she knew her daughter would be quiet, Lana hated her half brother crying even more than Catelyn did.

Cat walked through into the kitchen, it was only small, a cooker, a fridge the same height as Lana and an old, run down microwave, as well as a small circular table with two chairs and a high chair around it. It was not even close to the life she had  
with Brandon, but her main focus was her kids and without them, she was nothing.

Brandon had stuck to his promise, every week, she got just less than a hundred pounds, she spent it all on the children and was grateful every time the check came through the door.

Lana was quick to dress, and she came through into the kitchen with a hairbrush and a few hair ties, asking her mother to do her hair for her.

Cat nodded, putting the toast and the little bit of butter they had left on the table for Lana, she walked behind her and began styling her hair.

Before long, it was time to take Lana to school, Unwillingly, Catelyn went and woke up her baby. Robb didn't cry the entire car ride, which was a first.

Cat rested her son on her hip and took her daughters hand, lana had started carrying her own bags for a change, so it was less of a burden for her mother.

She missed standing in the playground talking to Ned, and watching as their children ran off and played with others. Lana was struggling to make friends, that was nothing new, Cat had been asked to go in and speak with her teacher once before but there  
was nothing anybody could do, Lana hated it here, and nobody could change that.

It was as though Robb had replaced Ned, and sometimes, Cat wished that Ned was here, raising two children on the bare minimum was very hard.

Instead of running away to play, Lana stayed byher mothers side as they waited for the school bell.

A woman approached Catelyn as she was fidgeting with Robb's clothes, altering his shirt so it was more comfortable for him.

"Are you Lana's mother?" The woman asked before Cat had even realised someone was stood there.

Catelyn slowly turned her head to look at the woman, she looked a bit older than herself, and certainly better off judging by the extensive amount of jewellery and clothes she was wearing, he had brown hair, purple eyes and Cat couldn't tell is her tan  
was real or not.

"I am, Why?"

"Because Ithink you need to sort out your daughter" The woman said hatefully.

"Excuse me?" Cat asked, bewildered.

"Your little beast has been attacking my child"

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Cat inquired

"My name is Ms. Ashara Dayne, and Iwould like you to explain to me why your child is so out of control"

"I'm sure this is a mistake" Cat insisted, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"This is no mistake, Your child hit my little girl the other day, unless you're calling my child a liar?"

"I guess I am because Lana wouldn't do something like that" Cat insisted, but with the way Lana was hiding behind her legs and giving the other girl a death glare, Catelyn was losing confidence in her argument.

"You need to be having words, and I suggest you re-think whatever parenting skills you think you have because if not, those brats will end up in care" Said Ashara, hatefully.

Catelyn couldn't stop herself, she was now ridiculously angry "You try raising two children on your own, see how you like it, I do my best with these kids and they're perfect, so what if Lana hit your child, i'm sure she deserved it, you're accusing me  
of bad parenting, and if this is the example you set your kids? I fear for them, I truly do, I could go on and on but i've given you too much time already,Ashara" Catelyn said, just as Robb began to cry again.

Ashara walked away then, Cat tried to settle Robb as she looked down at her daughter.

"Did you hit that girl, Lana?" Cat asked sternly.

Lana didn't look her mother in the eye, so by taking her answer as a 'yes' Cat said "good" Which made her daughter smiled, Just as Robb calmed down again, The bell went and Catelyn let Lana walk in on her own, on request from her daughter. 

* * *

Robb was laid on the sofa next to her, Cat had out some cartoons on the TV for him which seemed to keep him calm, in his short life, Cat had worked out he liked the stories about knights the best.

She was simply staring at him, then she looked back to her phone, Ned's contact was right there, she could ring him right now and tell him, she could invite him round and they could be normal, she wasn't tied to anybody anymore, she could do what she  
wanted.

But she didn't, instead, she pressed the power button and closed her phone, she looked back to her son, it still felt strange saying it, _her son,_ she had a son. Ned had two boys, two beautiful, healthy boys, but Catelyn didn't know if he would ever  
know that.

What if he had a girlfriend? What if he had forgotten about her, how could she possibly tell him about Robb then? She would ruin his life.

She often wondered about Jon, was he doing alright without Lana? It must've been a shock the day he found out Lana was gone. They were like brother and sister. In fact, Lana had cried for hours when Catelyn explained that they weren't going home.

Catelyn's family had been supportive at first, her sister didn't really care too much, which she was tahakful for, that last thing she wanted was a daily visit from Baelish.

Her brother didn't see her, at all, and the only time they had spoken was briefly at her fathers funeral, Cat was thankful she was with him in the last few days, he had died not long after she found out about Robb, and is probably the only person in the  
family who knows about her second child, apart from her uncle.

Brynden was still looking after Lana every 3rd weekend, just to give Cat a small break, though, it did break Catelyn's heart every time Lana said 'uncle Brynden' she wanted her to be saying 'uncle Ned'

Robb rolled slightly and Cat pulled him right back to where he was, this was the boring part of the day for her, he had been fed, he wasn't too tired, but he also sandy wide awake, she started at the TV the best he could.

There was a knock at the door.

Catelyn was expecting a delivery of some kitchen ware, so, she stood up and picked Robb up. She settled him in her arm, holding him close. She didn't want to leave him on his own, even if she was just answering the door.

She turned the TV down slightly, for it was quite loud, and headed to the door, awkwardly, she reached up with her opposite arm to get her key that was on a hook, under her coat.

She unlocked the door, hung her key back up and pulled open the door.

Who she saw however, was not adelivery man. Cat just stood there fora second, mouth agape, and eyes wide.

His eyes were also shocked, probably at the sight of her son.

"Uh... Hi" Catelyn said finally.

"Hey" Ned said.

"Do- did you uh? Come in" Catelyn said, standing to one side.

Ned walked through the door, kicking off his shoes at the door and waiting for her to close the door and lead them though to the living room.

They took a seat at either end of her sofa.

"How, how did you find me?" Catelyn asked, placing Robb back where he was.

"I asked around a lot, I looked on Facebook but you weren't there, and I ended up messaging your cousin I think, someone called 'Whent' anyway, they asked your sister, and then they reported back to me"Ned explained.

"Oh, right" Cat said, trying to think of some distant family who would know where she was but not beingable to recall anybody.

"So, who's this? Should I be worried about some boyfriend coming and attacking me?" Ned joked, but Catelyn didn't laugh.

"This is Robb... Do you want to hold him?" She asked, offering Ned their son.

"Yes, of course" Ned said, taking Robb in his arms. "Should I?" He asked again.

"Should you what?"

"Be worried about some boyfriend" Ned asked again.

"Oh. No, I'm on my own here, apart from the kids" Cat explained.

"Oh, where did this one come from then? He is yours I'm guessing"

"Well, uh... Yeah, but..." Cat said, bringing a hand to her head to play with her hair nervously.

"What?" Ned asked, as he looked down and Robb and stroked a finger across his cheek.

"He's yours" Catelyn blurted out so fast she was surprised he heard, but by the way his face darkened slightly and his smile faded, she could tell he had understood.

He didn't speak, but Cat could understand him perfectly, he was confused, annoyed, a little worried.

"Ned?" Cat said, moving over slightly on the sofa.

He looked up to meet her eye, she was close to tears, Ned shifted the boy into his other arm, and held his other one out for her, she was confused at first but then in a rush of emotion, she went to him, and embraced hissmell, size, the feel of  
him against her, all these things she had wanted so badly these last months.

"Why didn't you call me?" Ned asked "you left without anything, not a text, nothing, I found out from Brandon and I blamed myself for weeks" He said

Catelyn sat up, looking at him. "I'm sorry Ned, I truly am, but I didn't know what to do, I only found out after I'd moved in and I didn't want to ruinyour chance of being happy"

"I thought I'd told you? You mademe happy, Catelyn, you still do, you have no idea how happy I was to see you." Ned explained, he brought a hand to her face, and wiped away the single tear that had escaped her eye with the pad of his thumb.

"I still love you" Cat admitted

"And I never stopped loving you" He said. "And now you've given me something else to love" Ned said, looking down to their child.

"You're not mad?"

"Of course I am, I wish you would have told me, I'm going to hate the fact I wasn't there to give you a back rub when it hurt, or make you a drink when you felt ill, or hold your hair out of your way in the mornings as you throw up the meal I'd made you  
the night before, but you didn't call me, so I couldn't be there, and I'll deal with that, but it does not mean I don't already love our son more than anything" Ned said.

Catelyn let another tear fall down her cheek "Thatwas an incredibly accurate description of the last nine months of my life, he was a lot worse than Lana" Cat recalled, placing a hand over her now flat stomach.

"Is she at school?" Ned asked.

Cat nodded "where's Jon?" Catelyn realised suddenly.

"He's with Lya and Robert for the night, he's missesLana a lot"

"She's missed him, too" Cat

Ned handed Robb back to Cat, and she walked through and put him in his bed, she turned around and was startled to see Ned standing behind her.

"Living on your own for a year really gets to you, it seems" Cat said, holding a hand on her chest.

Ned took her face in his hands and kissed her, it let to right, so long in the making, she had missed the feel of his dry lips on hers, it felt like she was home.

"I have really, really missed doing that" Ned said she he pulled away.

"Well, how about you do it again?"

So he did, He kissed her full on the lips, breathing in the scent of her hair and taking her hands in his. She opened her mouth for his tongue, the warmth spread through her entire body, God, she'd missed this.

He was just about to slide a hand under her top when Robb made a noise, she bit on his bottom lip playfully before backing away and turning around to see to their Sons needs.

"Let me" Ned said, moving around to see to his son.

Cat smiled as she watched, this is the type of thing she had dreamt about, but she never expected it to be real, she smiled as Ned began to change their boy, it has clearly been a long time since he had done this so she walked back in front of him.

She put his hand over hers and he stood behind her and her hand guided his on what to do.

Maybe this wouldn't be too bad. 


End file.
